Eurofighter, why has Germany changed its mind about Saudi Arabia?

9 January 20244 months ago babelfish

Germany is now willing to allow new sales of Eurofighter fighters to Saudi Arabia.

On January 7, Germany expressed its willingness to allow the sale of Eurofighters to Saudi Arabia, a country that had been under embargo since 2018. This decision by the German government may have been influenced by the pressure exerted by industrial and political actors linked to Eurofighter.

GERMANY'S POSITION ON EUROFIGHTERS TO GERMANY

During a visit to Israel, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said : “As the German federal government, we do not oppose British considerations regarding other Eurofighters.”

WHAT HAPPENS BETWEEN GERMANY AND SAUDI ARABIA ON THE EUROFIGHTERS

Germany had previously prevented the sale of 48 Eurofighter Typhoons to Saudi Arabia since 2018. The minister highlighted Saudi Arabia's role in defending Israel's security by intercepting missiles launched from Yemen by the Houthis. The German government's change of direction may also have been influenced by the Saudi proposal to purchase 54 Rafales from Dassault.

Germany's refusal to sell 40 Eurofighter EF-2000 to Turkey in December had provoked strong reactions among its European partners. British, Spanish, Italians and various industrialists involved in the fighter plane program had criticized Germany for the loss of credibility and damage to its defense industry.

This news comes shortly after the October 7 attack that shook the Middle East, and a week after Saudi Arabia joined BRICS+ . This shift in the German position suggests that Germany's arms export policies may change rapidly.

This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/eurofighter-perche-la-germania-ha-cambiato-idea-sullarabia-saudita/ on Tue, 09 Jan 2024 06:33:26 +0000.